Clinton defends Abedin, praises McCain

By BYRON TAU

07/30/2012 07:29 PM EDT

AP Photo

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended her own top State Department aide Huma Abedin against charges that Abdein had ties to radical Islam — saying that those attacks have "no place in our politics."

Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Monday, Clinton was asked about suspicions raised by a handful of Republican members of Congress in a letter — including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) — that the Muslim-American Abedin may have ties to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group.

In answering the question, Clinton tied the Abedin controversy into the struggle of developing nations to respect minority religions.

"Leadership is incredibly important. Leaders have to be active in stepping in and sending messages about protecting the diversity within their countries. And frankly, I don’t see enough of that, and I want to see more of it. I want to see more of it, and we did see some of that in our own country. We saw Republicans stepping up and standing up against the kind of assaults that really have no place in our politics," Clinton said.

Clinton was referring to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who condemned Bachmann's letter on the Senate floor.

“These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit. And they need to stop now,” McCain said.